WARBLERS 509 



most examples feathers play an important part. A majority 

 of the nests I have seen were lined with the feathers from the 

 breasts of various small birds which had been picked up here 

 and there. These feathers were many of them placed so that 

 their bases were imbedded in the bottom of the nest structure 

 and the tips of the feathers arose above the border of the nest 

 and curved until the tips of the entire circlet met above the 

 center of the nest, hiding its contents from view. The dimen- 

 sions of a typical nest are: Diameter, outside, 4.5 inches, 

 inside, 2.25 inches; depth, outside, 1.75 inches, inside, 1 inch. 

 The number of eggs laid is usually four, often five and 

 sometimes only three. The extreme dates in my possession 

 when fresh eggs were found near Bangor are between May 

 thirtieth and June sixth; a nest found June fourteenth con- 

 tained young about a week old. The time taken to build a 

 nest is about ten days. The female does most of the work, 

 but the male, occasionally, at least, brings some material and 

 often is present and sings while the female is working. The 

 eggs are usually laid one each day until the set is complete, 

 though occasionally a day may be skipped without laying. 

 Incubation ordinarily begins upon deposition of the first egg, 

 or, at any rate, the female is usually found sitting upon a nest 

 containing only one or two eggs, and which later has four or 

 five eggs as the full complement. The eggs are dull white or 

 creamy white in ground color, wreathed with a circle of spots 

 about the larger end, these spots being of various shades of 

 brown, red-brown, lilac, umber and gray. A few scattered 

 spots may also be found on other portions of the egg, but the 

 spots are usually most frequent and of greater size at the larger 

 end. Occasionally a freak egg may be found, in which the 

 wreathing is about the smaller end, but such cases are rare. 

 A typical set of four eggs taken at Stockton Springs, Maine, 

 June sixth, measure as follows: 0.68 x 0.52, 0.67 x 0.51, 0.70 

 X 0.52, 0.68 X .051 inches. The largest egg of which record can 

 be found measures 0.72 x 0.55. As runt eggs have been known to 



